In my area a "white" or "blonde" roux is made with butter, and flour, It is used to thicken cream/white sauces, and lighter soups. The darker roux is made with oil and flour and cooked to the desired color either for flavor, thickening, or both. Butter is rarely used for the darker roux as it (butter) burns easily. Contrary to commonly accepted proportions of a 50/50 mixture of flour to oil...Everybody I know uses more flour than oil. I personally use around a 2:1 ratio of flour to oil....1/4 cup of oil...1/2 cup of flour....

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__________________There is only one Quality worse than Hardness of Heart, and that is Softness of Head.

...Contrary to commonly accepted proportions of a 50/50 mixture of flour to oil...Everybody I know uses more flour than oil. I personally use around a 2:1 ratio of flour to oil....1/4 cup of oil...1/2 cup of flour....

I agree Bob. I think the confusoin lies with the units of measure. The 'equal amounts' rule applies to measuring by weight, not volume. So a pound of oil, about two cups, would go with a pound of flour, about four cups, to make a roux.

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"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan

I agree Bob. I think the confusoin lies with the units of measure. The 'equal amounts' rule applies to measuring by weight, not volume. So a pound of oil, about two cups, would go with a pound of flour, about four cups, to make a roux.

I understand your math, but I have never seen or heard of a roux recipe stated in weight instead of volume...The "confusion" to me has always been the 50/50 Spoonful to Spoonful, 1/2 Cup to 1/2 cup etc. etc. etc. stated in recipes When it's obvious that the ratio gives you more oil than needed to make the roux. Who wants to pour a 1/2 cup of oil in their gumbo when a 1/4 cup of oil of will brown the same amount of flour??
Not Uncle Bob!

__________________There is only one Quality worse than Hardness of Heart, and that is Softness of Head.

...I just never heard of heating straight plain oil in a pan and then adding flour to get a roux...Your examples do not show making a straight oil and flour roux for a recipe. You have included other ingredients...

True, I see your point. I'll have to think if there is ever a time I make a roux without drippings ...

At work, we make roux every couple of weeks. If I make it, it's oil and flour. Some of the other cooks will make it with butter and flour. We have to have a good quantity of roux around, as we use it all the time to thicken soups, gravies, etc.

BTW, my Sous Chef keeps a stash of roux made with bacon drippings under his workstation.

The sauce may be less or more thick depending upon how you control the temperature under the pot in which the sauce is cooking, so you may need to simmer to reduce to the desired consistency or add a little extra stock if the pot has been on too high a heat.

For a brown sauce, it is possible to brown the flour in the oven prior to use. Place about 100g flour on a baking tray/sheet and place in an oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4. Make sure that you spread the flour evenly over the tray using the back of a fork. Bake until a rich golden brown - 40 plus minutes. Check every 15 minutes or so and stir with the back of a fork. Allow the flour to get thoroughly cold (very important that you do this) and then store and place in an airtight container for use. Whilst the flour browns some moisture is lost but it is not sufficient to cause a problem when measuring the browned flour to use in a sauce. If you make classic sauces like espagnole on a regular basis, it saves time when making the roux to brown the flour in advance.

I always make roux using olive oil for health reasons. The end product tastes pretty good and you won't miss the butter. Also agree with Andy that the 1:1 proportion of fat and flour is in terms of weight. There's a scientific explanation for this by Harold Magee or Alton Brown somewhere...